In the construction of chandelier frames, it is often desirable to provide complicated frameworks emanating from a center post. These frameworks are used to hold a variety of ornaments, typically of cut crystal. Such frameworks can have the shape of a bowl, a pair of spaced rings, a number of flower-like petals or any other of a variety of complex shapes that extend in three dimensions.
In the past, chandelier frames have been constructed typically by bending a large number of precut lengths of steel strip or wire and joining the bent pieces into a frame structure by welding or soldering. FIG. 1 illustrates a bowl-shaped chandelier frame 40 formed from a large number of bent strips 42, rectangular in cross-section. The strips 42 are joined by hand soldering or welding (joints 44 of FIG. 2) at their points of interconnection. In order to acheive a bowl or hemispherical-shape, the strips 42 must be individually bent in two dimensions--a costly and exacting process. Ornament hanging tabs 46 must often be attached individually in a painstaking operation by welding the tabs one at a time to the frame.
The prior art frame 40 of FIG. 1 is manufactured on a complicated welding jig that is constructed specifically for a given type of chandelier frame design. The construction of such a chandelier frame entails many hours of painstaking labor by a highly skilled craftsman. Despite the craftsman's skill, however, imperfect frames that are commercially unacceptable often result from the process. Even when frames are not so flawed as to be commercially unmarketable, the hand construction process often yields chandelier frames with minor imperfections and misalignments that detract from the desired optical effect when ornaments are attached.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,805 discloses a major improvement to the process of manufacturing chandelier frames. This application shows that frames can be constructed of members that are precisely cut from sheet stock by a computer-controlled laser cutter. The cut members can be assembled rapidly by joining the members together at various preformed attachment locations using slots and twistable tabs. This technique can eliminate many steps in the manufacturing process, including virtually all welding steps. The chandelier frames are produced more quickly, and the overall alignment of the frames achieves a precision that was never achieved in the prior art.
The present invention represents a substantial improvement in the manufacture of chandelier frames. One object of this invention is to provide a method for the rapid construction of chandelier frames having curved-surface shapes. Another object of this invention is to provide a chandelier frame having enhanced rigidity. The chandelier frame should be easy to assemble using relatively unskilled labor, and the frame members should be formable using flat, sheet stock that can be cut by, for example, a laser cutting device. The method should allow construction of complex frames that extend in each of three dimensions.